1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems, methods, and apparatus for producing decorative resin panels. In particular, one or more implementations of the present invention relates to creating decorative resin panels having high-resolution image layer(s) encapsulated therein.
2. The Relevant Technology
Decorative panels are increasingly popular for use in architectural design implementations, such as in walls, doors, floors, dividers, lighting diffusers, ceiling panels and the like. Decorative panels can also be used in sculptural works. Decorative panels made of glass or polymeric resins are particularly popular in architectural design due the structural, performance, and aesthetic properties they provide. There are many different materials (and methods of manufacturing/means to manufacture these materials) that can be utilized to create a resin-based panel.
In one example, a first sheet (e.g., a glass or polymeric resin sheet) is positioned on a surface, an image layer (e.g., a digitally-printed or screen-printed film) is then positioned on the first sheet, and a second sheet (a glass or polymeric resin sheet) is positioned on top of the image layer, thereby creating a particular laminate assembly. The laminate assembly is then solidified by means of any number of panel forming processes. For example, a manufacturer might apply a liquid adhesive between the first and second sheets, or might thermoform the first and second sheets about the image layer using an appropriate amount of temperature and pressure. The resulting panel, which exhibits the aesthetic properties of the image layer, is then prepared and positioned in the appropriate architectural environment (e.g., door, window, wall, etc.).
Unfortunately, conventional products such as those described above, have various limitations. For example, conventional image layers are commonly limited to low-resolution images (e.g., 75-150 dots per square inch (“dpi”)). The low-resolution images are often necessary to prevent ink cracking or image distortion of the image layer during lamination. For example, low-resolution screen printing or gravure printing with solvent-based inks is utilized to produce somewhat flexible images that can stretch or otherwise “give” to an extent when subjected to heat and pressure during lamination.
In particular, the heat and pressure applied during lamination typically causes the film upon which the ink is applied to flow to one extent or another. This flow of the image layer can cause the less flexible inks to split or crack. The stretch or flexing of the solvent-based inks, however, can prevent the image (i.e., ink) from splitting or otherwise distorting during lamination. Conventional screen printing or gravure printing, unfortunately, does not allow for high-resolution images or on-demand printing.
Image layers created using other printing techniques, such as laser or inkjet printing, can create high-resolution images and allow for on-demand printing. Unfortunately, when laser or inkjet images layers are laminated between resin sheets using heat and pressure, the images (i.e., ink) tend to split, crack, and otherwise distort. The splitting and other distortion of high-resolution image layers using conventional methods is due at least in part to layering and/or cross-linking of the ink. Cross-linked or polymerized inks are typically thermoset and tend to resist stretching or other movement. Thus, when such image layers are used in conventional lamination processes using heat and pressure, flow created in the layers of the laminate assembly often causes such less flexible ink to split, crack, or otherwise distort. In addition to the foregoing, architects often desire to use curved or otherwise non-planar panels with interlayers having images printed thereon. Thermoforming of conventional panels with printed image layers is another situation where the image layer may flow and therefore may cause the images to split and crack.
Conventional mechanisms are often therefore inefficient, if not completely ineffective, at creating decorative resin-based panels, particularly non-planar panels, with high-resolution images free of splits, cracks, or other distortions. As such, there is an increasing desire or need to combine the benefits of resin-based panels with high-resolution images in an efficient, cost-effective, and non-distorted way.